Phoenix's Song
by Hasty
Summary: Starfire and Raven meet a young girl at the mall. Her name is Elspeth and she's accompanying her sister on a tour. But Elspeth's story doesn't end there (Messed up on the title, sorry)
1. Default Chapter

Starfire bounced happily from one display to the next, dragging Raven behind her. The two were shopping at the mall, since the Teen Titans hadn't had any emergencies that morning. Raven hoped that their communicators would go off soon. She hated being around large amounts of people and had no real interest in shopping. Starfire stopped bouncing around just long enough to hear an announcement.

"Zordniks!"

"What's wrong, Star?"

Starfire sighed. "I wanted to get tickets to see a popular Earth band. I entered a drawing, and it appears that I lost." Raven blinked. She was surprised that Starfire even knew about Earth bands, and she was very shocked. But she couldn't allow herself to lose control. To cover her surprise, she asked, "Which band were the tickets for?"

"It is the Gemini band, according to this ticket." Raven yelped, "You mean 'Helena and the Geminis?"

Starfire nodded. "But now that I have lost, I shall go console myself with more Earthly hair ornaments."

Raven quickly escaped to a bench with only one other occupant, a teenage blonde who was quietly sketching. She glanced up at Raven and flipped a page. Another winner of the tickets was announced. Raven sighed. She'd entered the drawing too, but she wouldn't admit it to anyone, except maybe Beast Boy. The blonde glanced up from her sketchbook. She asked, "Did you win?" Raven growled, "No. Did you enter too?" The girl shook her head.

"I already had tickets."

"But that concert's been sold out for weeks!"

Starfire flew over then, almost knocking Raven down. Then she noticed the blonde. "Are you Raven's new friend?" Raven hastily protested, "We just met, Star. I don't even know her name."

The blonde grinned. "I'm Elspeth."

Starfire smiled, "I am Starfire and this is Raven. Would you like to go mall-ratting?"

Elspeth looked extremely confused, until Raven explained, "Star meant to ask if you would like to come with us."

A hundred dollars later, with a few narrow escapes for Raven, the girls got some ice cream and headed outside. Elspeth asked, "Do you two like the band Helena and the Geminis?" Raven nodded and Starfire told Elspeth about the drawing. Elspeth grinned and fished out five tickets from her pockets and gave them to Raven. Raven asked, "How did you get all these tickets?"

"My older sister is the lead singer. See ya at the concert!"

She ran off, grinning.

Elspeth walked over to the concert hall and in mid-stride, her cell phone rang. _It's probably Helena, having problems with that conceited lead singer of the opening band,_ she thought. She flipped open the cell phone. "Hello?" A deep voice replied, "Hello, Firebird. It's been a while. Remember me?" She froze. She'd only heard that voice once but she remembered. Only one person had ever called her that, a masked man she'd met when she was twelve. She gripped the phone tightly and hissed, "What do you want?" He replied, "What do you think?" Elspeth exerted more control over her self and answered, "My answer is the same. I refuse." He chuckled. "I wish you'd reconsider. You have a lot of power, and more control of it now." Elspeth quickly pushed the disconnect button.


	2. FireBird

So you're sure these are real?" Robin asked, prodding his ticket. "I haven't even heard of this band."

"For the last time, they're real," Raven growled. "Now can we go?"

Helena stepped up to the stage. It was weird, but she never felt nervous during a concert, only before. Elspeth sat backstage and gave her sister thumbs up.

Helena nodded back and grabbed the microphone. She raised her left hand, and the band started to play.

Cyborg honestly couldn't see what the big deal was. Sure, the band was good, but everyone around him, including the other four Titans, seemed absolutely enchanted.

Then he figured it out. Helena was using a mild form of emotional control to enhance her singing. It was so mild that she might not even be aware of it.

The lights dimmed and Helena started singing the last song. _"The Elf Knight sits on yonder hill, _she sang, and the band joined her on the chorus, "_Fine flowers in the valley. He blows his horn both loud and shrill, as the rose is blown._

The bass player sung the knight's part, endowing the lines with a bit of menace. Both of them sang strongly and at the end, Helena hit a perfect high note. Everything would have been fine, if the lights hadn't blown out suddenly.

"Robin," Starfire asked, "Was that supposed to happen?" Robin replied, "I don't know. " The Titans heard a scream from the stage. "I'm sure that's not supposed to happen," Raven observed dryly. "Titans go!" Robin said, but it was too late. Raven and Starfire were flying toward the stage, and Beast Boy wasn't far behind.

Starfire was the first one to reach the stage. She flung her arms around the sobbing blond girl.

"Have no fear, new friend. I am here."

Helena regained enough composure to ask, "Who are you?"

Starfire became completely confused. "We met this morning at the mall," she replied.

The rest of the Titans arrived then. Raven noticed something familiar about the girl that Starfire was talking to. Except for the eyes, she looked exactly like Elspeth. Raven asked, "Do you know a girl named Elspeth?" Helena replied, "Elspeth's my younger sister."

Robin scanned the area for suspicious activity.

"Who screamed?"

Helena said softly, "Elspeth did. I think she was kidnapped."

-

"Wake up, Firebird."

Elspeth rubbed her eyes. The motion allowed her to remove her contact lenses, so they wouldn't fuse to her eyeballs if she had to use her powers.

"You," she said, threateningly. "What do you want?"

Slade moved closer to her.

"The same thing I wanted two years ago. I want you to be my Apprentice."

"I refused then, and my answer now is the same."

She felt the back of her neck tingle. It was the same as last time, except that no one was here to protect her-or hold her back.


End file.
